His Coat
by Fallen Ark Angel
Summary: Somehow Mirajane staying the night at Laxus' place for the first time turns into the theft of his coat and him having a pocket full of panties. You know because... Just because! - One-shot.


His Coat

"I can tell why you like this thing."

Laxus was, at that moment, busy flipping through a book of spells over on his couch and didn't spare the woman a glance. "Can you?"

"Mmmhmm," Mirajane hummed as she pranced around in his apartment, the early dawn light filtering softly through the windows and giving her a far better look than the darkness of the night before had when she'd stumbled in there with the man. Across her shoulders, of course, laid his coveted fluffy coat that, honestly, Mira had wanted to snag since their first date.

It just so happened that the two first began seeing one another right at the tail end of winter. The season was growing warmer and, before Mirajane got a chance to accidentally forget her jacket one breezy March day and need his to keep from freezing to death, it was April and warm and, well, that was the end of that.

And it wasn't like they could get caught in a Spring shower or anything and her take it then because, obviously, it wasn't a rain coat. When it did rain, the thing got soaked and Laxus had to take it home to wash it. No chance for Mirajane to disappear with it and never give it back.

Not that that was her plan or anything. No. No way. She wasn't going to like, steal the thing or something crazy like that. Just borrow it. And wear it. Constantly. Around other people. To show them just who had tamed Laxus Dreyar.

Ugh. That in itself was a story, honestly. The man was not someone who was easy to get close to. Coupled with his avoidance to any close relationships and his inwardly self-absorbed persona was the Thunder Legion. And even though Mirajane had long earned their respect, that meant nothing when it came to dating their fearless leader.

Slowly though (and through a lot of breaks as he left on jobs or she just got swamped with work), she found herself becoming less his infrequent date and, somehow, his only one. In return, she said she'd make him the same for her which seemed to irk the dragon as, honestly, he'd thought he was.

The naivety that he had at times was one of the cutest things about him.

Another challenge quickly presented itself not soon after that in Mira's seemingly never-ending struggle to acquire Laxus' favorite coat. Namely, they never went back to his place.

Never. Not even when she was just the occasional date/hookup. Always motels or her house which, honestly, didn't bother her much. She knew that he was a private person and, if for whatever reason he didn't want her there, then fine. It was his apartment, his rules.

You know, until she became the one and only. Then it was more or less a demand that he stop coming over to her house, arguing with her brother, pestering her sister, and, somehow, always messing up at least one room. Usually the bathroom.

Instead, she decreed, they would begin going over to his apartment occasionally. It was only right, after all, for him to invite her there. She was a lady. He should treat her as such.

"Unless, of course," she teased at one point, "you got a secret family there you don't want me knowing about."

He didn't think that was funny, but then, the slayer was rather hard to get a smile out of.

That was part of the fun though and Mira rarely griped. Most every other guy she knew just laughed at her lame jokes in hopes of her letting them get into her pants. It usually worked too. But the fact that Laxus was resistant to this route not only made him all the more alluring, but also a rather fun puzzle to figure out.

At the moment though, there was no studying or analyzing the man. Just one glance at his face told her all she needed to know; he was late for something.

"Do you have something to do today, dragon?" she asked as, slowly, she came to join him on his couch. Laxus didn't glance at her and only turned the page in the book with a grunt.

"Is it practice or something?" She snuggled into the coat, wrapping it tighter around her. If it was too large for him almost, it was humongous on her. "With the Thunder Legion?"

Another grunt and page turn.

"Or is it something else?"

Taking in a deep breath, he let it out slowly before saying, "I was going to go speak with Gramps about something."

She tried not to look too disappointed that their morning together was ending before the sun was even fully up.

"Oh."

With a shake of his head, he went back to his book. "But it can wait."

"If Master is waiting on you-"

"It was just something _I_ wanted to talk about," the man told her simply. "Not him."

"Was it important?"

"A bit."

"I'm sorry. Do I need to leave?"

Page flip.

"Did I say that?"

That brought her grin back as she bounced slightly, there on the couch, which actually disturbed him and got her a glare, but Mira only gave a sheepish grin in return. Rolling his eyes then, Laxus went back to looking up whatever spell he was trying to find as Mirajane only sat there, knees on the couch as she faced him, looking around after a moment or two.

"I honestly always assumed that you lived in some sort of swanky apartment in the heart of the town with tons of cool lacrimas all around and really expensive furniture," Mira gushed as he only sighed and, still not finding what he was looking for, turned the page.

Then he frowned.

"Swanky?"

Nodding, the woman repeated, "Swanky."

"Yeah, well," he replied with a slight shrug of indifference. "I'm not here a lot. I travel. What's the point of buying anything more than a couch, a bed, a dresser, fridge, and coffee table if I'm never around to use them? Huh? These? What's here? I used when I'm here. And only these. Anything else would just be wasteful."

"But still," she kept up, his coat nearly falling down one of her shoulders as she still continued to glance about. "I just figured you'd want really sleek looking stuff. You know, for when you entertained."

"Sleek and swanky?" Snort. "And I don't have people over."

"I meant, well, you know, women."

And for some reason, she stumbled a bit over that part which was just silly. They were exclusive in the moment, but to pretend like they weren't before was just childish. Laxus had had more than his fair share, she was certain, just as she had.

Another snort. "I don't bring women here."

"Why not?"

"Look at the place." He dropped the still opened book into his lap so that he could motion around.

"Looks fine to me," she remarked.

"Yeah, because I knew you were so keyed into comin' over that I had Freed and Ever detail the place for me. Spotless. Every other time it's filled with beer bottles and clothes everywhere."

Mirajane blinked. "Really?"

"Really," he told her, picking up his book once more. "Demon."

"I always took you as neat freak."

"Nope."

"Huh." Slowly, she sat back on her butt, her eyes keyed in on him then. "Well, I guess you have been alone for a long time. Lived alone, I mean. And if you really don't take people back here-"

"I really don't," he reiterated.

"-then what would be the point in cleaning?" Mira hummed then. "I'm very into cleaning though. As you know."

"If this is about your stupid bathroom, it's your fault for hiding the plunger."

"I didn't hide it, Laxus. It was in the cabinet beneath the sink."

"Should be right next to the toilet. Problem solved then."

"Or you could have just asked."

"And admit what I did? Yeah right."

"Oh and me finding it when you left was so much better."

"It was," he agreed as she only gave him a look. "You know, before you brought it up again. Constantly."

"Because it's disgusting."

"As if you've never clogged a-"

"And that wasn't the point. You left water on the floor for your shower, a wet towel as well, and had shaved without washing your hair out of the sink-"

"I'm a dragon, woman," he growled slightly, if not all together playfully. "A rogue. I know no boundaries."

"Or how to pick up a sponge and wipe out a shower."

"I told you," he complained, "that I had fallen into a mud pit and had to clean off."

"Doesn't excuse you leaving all that crud in the bottom of my shower."

"Can we find another topic? Please?"

Mirajane only got to her feet then, being sure to keep the coat around her as she did so. She was fearful that it was truly what Laxus was waiting for, that if she put it down, even for a second, he'd snatch it up and be out to the door, off to see his grandfather. Honestly she thought that she should just force him to go. How much longer would the man be around to just pop in on anyhow?

But she was greedy, as it was turning out, with the little time she had with her dragon. The closer that they grew, the more she wanted and, though the feeling was returned, Laxus just had none to give her. He was a wanderer at heart and, fine, Magnolia would always be home, but he wasn't someone to sit around and just enjoy it. No. Earth Land was wide and expansive. What would he look like, being (in his mind) the most powerful man to ever walk it and choose to hardly ever leave his childhood home?

And their relationship had been nowhere near long enough for Mirajane to stake any real claim to him, much less make demands of the man. It was fated to end poorly to begin with, they both knew; why give it a further push?

"Do you have anything for breakfast in here?" Laxus heard Mira call from the connecting kitchen. "Dragon?"

"Protein bars."

"Laxus, you can't be serious."

"Do I look like I cook, woman?"

"You look like you eat."

"You-"

"Here." She was coming back into the tiny living room then with the previous bars he'd mentioned. "Want one?"

She only tossed it at him though as she passed and he watched her head into the bathroom then, though it was just to take another peek. She'd seen it the night before, after all, right before they finally, truly called it a night. Laxus was kinda glad then that he'd forced the Thunder Legion (minus Bickslow) to tidy it up; if she thought he left her bathroom dirty, she'd have died if she saw how he usually kept it.

"I like the tile in there," she offered up as she came to, once more, join him on the couch. Only that time she sat on her butt, not facing him, focusing more on her breakfast. One thing about sleeping over at Mira's was that she made him breakfast if he managed the whole night. Once finding that out, he almost always did.

"Yeah," Laxus mumbled through a mouth of protein bar. "It's really...tile like."

He felt the eye roll. He just did. Don't ask how.

"Anyways," Mira sighed after a long pause in which Laxus turned the page a bunch more. Whatever he was looking for (or at least pretending too) must have been rather serious. "I suppose I should take off soon."

That time she got a slight shrug.

"Do as you wish," he told her simply. "I'm not forcing you out. You only pined after this place for months, after all."

"I did not pine."

"You pined."

"Oh, whatever."

Again, they both fell silent and Mirajane, still bundled up in his coat, slowly found herself snuggling up to the slayer. He allowed this, absently looking over page after page in that dang book. Finally, Mirajane found herself asking what he was searching for.

"It is quite the advanced book," he informed her. "There's a mage I encountered out on my last job and I cannot place his magic. I was going to ask Gramps about it."

"Oh. That was all?" Mira settled into him even more. "So I am truly not keeping you from something?"

"Believe me, demon," he grumbled, "if you were, you'd be gone by now."

She didn't, but that was okay.

As more light flooded the room and the sun only rose higher, Laxus got no closer to finding what he needed and just dropped the book in his lap before staring up at the ceiling with a slight moan. Cuddling closer to him, Mirajane shut her eyes in contentment.

Then Laxus spoke.

"I'm gonna catch a shower," he told her simply though he did not move to do so. "And then head out to see Gramps. I wished that I could figure this out on my own, but why waste time when the old coot might actually know exactly what it is that I need, huh?"

Mirajane only hummed. "I should be on my way too. I work the afternoon shift, after all. I want to go home and take a long soak in the tub and just relax. Not to mention my do...stray that I see occasionally is probably in need of something to eat."

Grunt. "I will see you at the hall then, later."

"See you."

And Mira was the first to get up, though that was to go to the bedroom and gather her clothes. She had, after all, been wearing only one of his button up shirts back out there in the living room. Even with her dress back on, however, Mirajane put no thought in slipping the slayer's coat right back on and heading first out of the bedroom and then towards the apartment door.

"I suppose," she heard Laxus complain from the couch where he was still very much so seated, "that I should keep the place clean from now on?"

"You mean have your slaves do it for you?"

"They gladly do my bidding."

Heh.

"If what you're asking," she sighed as she only stood at the door, one hand on the knob, not looking back at him, "is if I liked spending the night, then yes. Your bed is...comfortable."

"Told you, I never get much time to spend in it."

"Mmmm."

"We can stay over here some," he told her simply then. "More often. I just… I'm not big on taking women into my space."

"But you're all fine with screwing theirs up."

"Mira, you're gonna have to get over this bathroom thing."

Uh, no, she wouldn't. He'd have to get over the idea of her getting over it was more like it.

"See you at the guild then, dragon," she sang as he still only sat there, watching her leave. "Tonight."

"This afternoon," he corrected and, with a giggle, she took that as her cue. She was just turning the knob, however, when he spoke again.

"And demon?"

"Yes?" she sang, pausing once more.

"You're really intent on taking that with you, aren't you?"

"Oh, this?" She dropped the knob to reach out and pat the coat around her shoulders.

"Yeah." His voice had no play any longer. "That."

"I'm thinking about keeping it until tonight."

"Really now."

"Uh-huh."

"I'll be getting it back...right?"

"Do you not trust me, Lax?"

"You've only taken five of my favorite shirts and both of my favorite watches."

"You left those shirts over at my house."

"For you to wash! But now you won't give them back."

"I have to have something to wear to bed."

"The wat-"

"And to keep time with."

"They don't even fit your wrist!"

No, but they looked really nice among her jewelry on her dresser. Expensive.

"Dragon, I have to go. I know that you just want me to, like, move in and keep you company-"

"What?"

"-but please, be understanding."

Growl. Then, "Take it. You thief."

"I'm not a thief. I'm a borrower."

"Oh, sure."

"It's true." And that time she opened the door to head out. "Ask anyone. This is just what a girlfriend does."

And she was one hundred percent right, she thought. Until, well, a few weeks later when Laxus found himself back at her place once more.

"What are you doin'?" Mira yawned tiredly as the man got out of bed in the early pre-dawn hours. His moving hadn't woken her, but rather the sound of him going through her dresser in the corner of the room. "Lax?"

"Oh, nothing. Go back to sleep."

"Mmmm." She snuggled back into her pillow. "Lose something?"

"Nope." He got to the drawer he was looking for then and stared into it with a slight smirk. "Found it."

"Huh?"

"What I's lookin' for." Laxus held down a yawn as he slowly pulled out the first pair of underwear, looking them over. "I'll just be taking these and, ooh, these lace ones right here and, demon, why don't you wear these for me right here? Hmmm? You been holdin' out on-"

"What are you doing?" And suddenly, Mirajane was wide awake. "Laxus? Put those down. Wha- Don't put them in your pockets."

"Oh, no, yeah, they're mine now." He shoved a few more into his jean pockets before glancing back at her. "Since we're taking shit."

She frowned. "Am I dreaming?"

Nope. He'd just been laying there though, thinking about how much he'd hated his most recent job and, not because he'd failed at it, but rather he hadn't had his damn coat to make him look imposing and awesome. And, well, if he couldn't get his coat back then he was at least taking a few keepsakes of his own back to his apartment.

"I think I'mma head out, Mirajane. Sun'll be up in an hour or so and I'd just feel dirty, you know, walking around the streets with pockets full of panties."

Yeah. Somehow he was able to say that last sentence without breaking into a chuckle. Laxus was a truly committed.

"You're crazy. Come back to bed."

"Nope. These are mine now."

"What are you even going to do with-"

He turned then, just to look at her in the darkness. "Do you really want to know?"

And they both just stared. Then with long sigh, Mirajane said, "I take your things because I want to wear them and feel close to you and let others know how close we are."

"Nothing says close like me jerking one out in your underwear."

Still no cracking. Laxus was void as ever.

Mirajane, however, wasn't.

"Get out."

"That's sorta what I'm trying to-"

"Laxus, just… Fine. You want your coat that badly?"

Arguing with him had woken her up somewhat and, with a groan, she moved to tumble out of bed and go get it from the closet, where she'd hung it at the end of the night. When he didn't stay over it usually wound up in bed with her, as a blanket, even when it was far too hot for such a thing.

"Here." She even threw down a sniffle as she went to hand it over. "All I wanted to do was wearing it. You'd think you'd like that."

"Why would you think that?"

"I don't know." He'd taken the coat and was turning then to put her underwear back in its drawer. She watched in displeasure. "You like it when I wear your shirt."

"Meh."

"Laxus-"

"I don't get it, Mira. Why do you have to take my stuff?"

"Because it's...I don't know. I just like being close to you. You're always gone and I get so lonely."

Grunt. Then, "I get lonely too. Hence the panties."

"Alright, I let it slide before, but seriously, I'm about to kick you out."

Heh.

Closing the drawer when he'd put all the panties away, Laxus glanced back at the woman.

"You want my coat that badly, woman?"

"I don't, like, have to have it. I just like wearing it to the hall and around town and talking in a deep voice to people, like I'm you or something."

That last part was news to him and Laxus had to blink. Then he sighed and handed her the coat.

"Keep it then."

"Laxus-"

"It's still mine." Turning back to the dresser, he snagged his watches. "And so are these."

"I like looking at them though."

"Mirajane."

Sigh. Snuggling his coat towards her, she watched sleepily as, with his watches retrieved, the man went to go pull on his discarded shirt from the night before as well as his boots.

"You're really leaving?"

"Early training session." He put on one of the watches, admiring it, before glancing at her. "Go back to bed. I wasn't really going to leave with your underwear."

'You were too."

Maybe. But just to prove a point.

Still, Laxus waited for her to get back into bed, snuggled up with his jacket, before he left. Going over to her bedside first, he grinned as he patted her on the head.

"You really like it?" he asked softly as she only grinned up at him. "My coat?"

"I love it."

That was the first time that that word had been used between the two of them and, for a moment, Laxus' face tensed and Mirajane worried she'd said the wrong thing. Just as quickly however, he was leaning down to gently nuzzle his forehead against hers.

"Yeah," he breathed. "I love it too."

And she blinked, still clearly tired, but Laxus only straightened before, with a slight wave, turning to leave the room. Even after he was gone though, Mirajane only laid there, snuggling the coat to her as she drifted off once more.

Mmmm.

She really did love that coat. A whole bunch.

Except when her panties were involved. Err...eh. Maybe even then.


End file.
